Now quicker European access

Two Bosnian war-crimes suspects to face tribunal

April 8, 1998
Web posted at: 4:46 p.m. EDT (2046 GMT)

BRUSSELS, Belgium (CNN) -- NATO-led troops on Wednesday arrested two Bosnian Serb officers charged with war crimes after the Bosnian War.

Miroslav Kvocka, 41, and Mladen Radic, 45, were indicted by the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague, NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana said.

"They are now being processed for transfer to The Hague," Solana said in a statement.

In Washington, State Department spokesman James Rubin said the officers were in charge of the Omarska detention camp outside Prijedor. Muslims and Croats were rounded up, and some allegedly were tortured and killed at the camp.

The men, who were indicted in February 1995, were arrested in the sector of Bosnia under the control of British troops, Rubin said.

NATO officer silent on details of arrest

Lt. Cmdr. Louis Garneau, spokesman for the NATO-led stabilization force (SFOR) in Bosnia, said the arrests were made in the late afternoon as part of an SFOR operation.

SFOR Spokesman Louis Garneau provides more details on the arrests
"It happened late this afternoon...
	306K/29 sec. AIFF or WAV sound
"I think the message is quite clear that all indictees need to turn themselves in...
	338K/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Kvocka and Radic offered little resistance, turning themselves in when it became clear that they could not escape, Garneau said. There were no injuries.

He would not discuss details of how the men were arrested, saying it would put planned and ongoing operations in jeopardy.

"I think the message is quite clear that all indictees need to turn themselves in," Garneau told CNN. "That is the safest and best alternative for them."

He added that the responsibility remains with the Bosnian government to turn over indictees.

About 74 people are publicly acknowledged to have been indicted by the Hague-based war crimes tribunal in connection with the war. Twenty-five are in custody, including the two latest detainees.

'The noose is gradually tightening'

Wednesday's operation was the fourth since last summer in which SFOR troops have detained suspected war criminals in Bosnia, Garneau said.

In January, SFOR arrested a former Bosnian Serb prison camp commander wanted for genocide. Goran Jelisic, who called himself the "Serb Adolf," had bragged to the media about the number of Muslims he butchered during the war.

Rubin said the campaign to round up those indicted for war crimes is making progress, despite skepticism about the process.

He called on former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, the most prominent indicted war crimes suspect, to surrender.

"Mr. Karadzic has no place to run and no place to hide," Rubin warned. "The noose is gradually tightening around his neck."

Karadzic and his military commander, Ratko Mladic, are charged with the genocide of Bosnian Muslims. Both remain at large.

Karadzic said to be preparing his defense

The NATO-led forces have said they are keeping their options open with regard to an operation to arrest Karadzic.

The U.N. envoy to Bosnia told a news conference Wednesday that she believes Karadzic is likely to appear soon before the war crimes tribunal.

Karadzic's position has become precarious because several former members of the Bosnian Serb regime have either given themselves up or been arrested, said envoy Elisabeth Rehn, a former Finnish defense minister and presidential candidate.

"Now that there have been this many surrenders and arrests, I suspect that he will be in The Hague quite soon," Rehn said. "I have heard rumors that he has been preparing his defense for a long time."

Reuters contributed to this report.

Related stories:

• Clinton calls for peace, democracy in Balkans - December 22, 1997
• Pentagon wants to avoid 'mission creep' in Bosnia - December 21, 1997
• Peacekeepers may seek out Bosnian war-crime suspects - September 24, 1997

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
  • Operations IFOR & SFOR - information relating to NATO's role in bringing peace in the Former Yugoslavia
• Bosnia Link - The official Department of Defense information system about U.S. military activities in Operation JOINT GUARD, the NATO peacekeeping mission in Bosnia
• Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
• Croatia/Bosnia-Herzegovina - from CARE
• Serbia Online
• Yugoslavia.com

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards & chat

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.